Ikkaku Madarame
"If you're gonna act like a badass, then you should probably have the skill to back it up." '- Ikkaku during the inflitration of Harton. Ikkaku is a former Harton-Erachi, who decided that the thirteen Court Guard Squads were not right for him and instead travelled to Gallifrey to learn of their ways and soon made friends with a young Konstantin. Personality: '"Battles are always fought one-on-one, and whoever dies has no regrets." - Ikkaku's outlook on a battle. "I'll give it my all and I'll never quit, no matter what happens to my body, I'll do what ever it takes to defeat you. That is my style, my pride is a stake, I'll continue fighting till the job is done. But if I should die trying, you're permitted to laugh at me." - Ikkaku's battle promise. Ikkaku is violent, fight-loving, and rude. He loves fighting so much, he is unwilling to travel anywhere without a sword. Ikkaku is very self-conscious about his baldness, often insisting he is not bald and his head is "shaven", and will threaten anyone who points this out. Ikkaku considers fighting fun, and tries to get as much fun as he can, even taking deadly risks to drag out fights for as long as possible. He limits his skills in order to make fights last longer, using his Bankai, or even his Shikai, as a last resort against his opponents. Ikkaku constantly smiles when engaging in a fight with a formidable opponent. Ikkaku considers the only honorable battles to be those fought one-on-one. Even the threat of death is not a reason to ignore this fact, for he believes the winner is only determined when the other dies. Ikkaku has a sense of loyalty and responsibility, and is fiercely loyal to his friend Konstantin. He considers surviving an otherwise lost battle good luck, and carries a blood-clotting ointment in the hilt of his blade. Hozukimaru: Though Hōzukimaru resembles an ordinary katana, its hilt is hollow to store a small vial of healing ointment, which Ikkaku can access by removing the hilt's pummel. Its tsuba is an oval, with what look like three small teardrops in relief on both the top and bottom end. Rarely wearing it at his side like most warriors, Ikkaku usually carries Hōzukimaru's sealed form in his hand to enable him to quickly access it in battle, and wields its sheath in his other hand to serve as a secondary weapon. Shikai: Its Shikai command is "Extend". The Shikai of Hōzukimaru is unusual in that Ikkaku slams its hilt (and sometimes its pommel) into its sheath to activate it when saying the command phrase. Once released, Hōzukimaru takes on the form of what initially appears to be a Kikuchi Yari (spear) with a wax wood shaft. The pommel has a red horsehair tassel. While able to deliver powerful blows, it is not very durable, and tends to break against particularly strong strikes. Ikkaku uses the command "Split apart" to separate his naginata into its true form, which is a Sansetsukon, after which the sections can independently reconnect and separate again at will. This special ability surprises his opponents when they first attack. These chains can extend a fair length, allowing Ikkaku to swing his weapon like a flail for mid-range attacks. Bankai: Ryūmon Hōzukimaru: Its two main weapons are a Chinese Monk's spade and a standard guandao. Both have a traditional horsehair tassel at the hilt, and a long, cylindrical weight for a pommel. The pommels are connected by a heavy chain to the center section, which resembles an axe blade, with a parallel handle forged into the blunt end and a dragon crest on one side of the blade. Ikkaku usually holds one blade in each hand and lets the central portion float behind him, though he will occasionally spin the entire configuration about using the center handle as a pivot. Ikkaku's Bankai, like his Shikai, is quite unusual. Aside from the increase in power, his Bankai does not offer any special abilities or special defensive properties, but releases some Amber, which starts to grow in strength. Ikkaku treats Hōzukimaru different than other Bankai users treat their blades, for they just let theirs slumber and use it when they want to do Bankai. If he forces it to awaken suddenly, cutting the enemy and not getting cut becomes a lot harder to handle than it should be, so his Bankai gets increasingly more powerful as the fight drags on. After he activates his Bankai, Ikkaku's Amber rises as the dragon crest slowly fills with crimson dye. It fills faster when he spins Ryūmon Hōzukimaru with the center handle. Ikkaku states his blade is very lazy in battle and needs to be woken up through causing or receiving injury. When the crest is completely filled, Ryūmon Hōzukimaru is at its full power. The force of unleashing so much power can leave his blade's edge brittle under excessive stress. Category:Konstantin's Free Ellen Team